Mark Zuckerberg is likely scratching his head these days, wondering why he ever greenlit the establishment of the so-called 'Meta Oversight Board'. This independent board has a lot to say about Mark's media products, such as Instagram, Facebook and Whats app. Not only does this board provide advice, but it even has the power to reverse the removal of posts and/or accounts.
A few weeks ago, the board released explosive findings, alleging that Instagram and Facebook were censoring Palestinian and pro-Palestinian users. The board further claimed that these platforms were not doing enough to address this issue. This includes the following disturbing findings:
- Posts about Palestinians on the platforms are less visible than before. In fact, according to the board, this reduced visibility is ’unexplainable’. This way of suppressing posts with a common theme is known in jargon as 'shadow banning'.
- The board believes that the platforms have insufficient knowledge of the Arabic language and the background of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. This is in itself highly remarkable, as Facebook and Instagram already make optimal use of the most advanced AI technologies. Of course, it cannot be ruled out that Instagram's automatic translation adds the word ’terrorist’ to users who have described themselves as ’Palestinian’. The expression ’Al-Aqsa’ was also not under a lucky star, it was added to the list of dangerous individuals and organizations in 2021. This while Al-Aqsa itself does not refer to terrorists or violent elements. In the first instance, Al-Aqsa is a mosque in Jerusalem, it is one of the three holy places of Islam. It is also outrageous that not AI came up with this 'ranking', but an employee of Zuckerberg. By the way, this is only logical, because AI would never have made this mistake! Oh yes, Al Aqsa is also the name of a terrorist martyr brigade but also the name of a charity.organisation. Yes, yes, Markie Zuckerberg, speaking of disinformation and manipulation.....
- it is in itself very problematic that the Meta list of dangerous individuals and organizations is not public. Based on this list, messages that originate from these 'red flags' are automatically deleted by Meta. In this way, messages may be blocked that are placed by (politically) correct people or organizations on Instagram or Facebook. But the board cannot judge that, because only Markie's inner circle knows who is on this blacklist.
- there is an automated moderation at Meta that cannot adequately assess whether messages are posted that support/glorify terrorism or not. As a result, journalists in various war zones, for example in the Gaza strip, are regularly censored unfairly.
I can continue discussing Meta’s unacceptable censorship policy, as the aforementioned examples speak volumes. As if all this weren't enough, several Meta employees declared the following in an open letter two weeks ago: 'Meta censors Islamic and Palestinian employees and users for years and has been underinvesting in addressing this issue for years.' Of course, Zuckerberg and his associates denied all accusations, claiming that 'the moderation policy is designed to give everyone a voice while keeping our platforms safe.'
Keeping the platforms safe, Mark? Facebook currently has more than 3 billion users, and Instagram around 2 billion. With these huge numbers and Meta’s near-monopoly position in social media, it is crucial that the oversight and control of these platforms are conducted by independent (governmental) bodies. An Oversight Board is a start, but nothing more than that. Citizens all over the world have the right to be protected by their governments against manipulation, dis/misinformation that is widely spread on social media.
Finally, it is a downright scandal that the U.S. government has not yet compelled Zuckerberg to break up his empire. At the end of the 19th century, the near-monopoly of the American steel industry was broken up under the Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890. Why isn’t this happening now with Zuckerberg’s empire? (Note: the same applies to the other three members of the Big Four, namely Amazon, Google, and Microsoft).
I’m not a conspiracy theorist, but could it be that there’s a deal between Zuckerberg and the CIA/FBI? Perhaps Mark is allowed to do as he pleases as long as the CIA can peek into the heart of the Meta system (and thus knows a lot, if not everything, about each of the 3 billion Facebook users…). Is this a paranoid assumption? Hmm, just watch the documentary about Edward Snowden - called Citizenfour - which exposes the practices of the FBI and CIA, particularly with Facebook.
Here is the Citizenfour documentary:
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